Lil Wayne has paid tribute to the police officer who saved his life, remembering how the cop had ‘refused’ to let him die when he suffered a near-fatal gunshot wound as a child.
Robert Hoobler rushed to help the then-12-year-old, whose real name is Dwayne Carter Jr., after he shot himself in the chest with a 9mm pistol. According to the rapper, Hoobler had ‘refused’ to let him die.
Jefferson Parish coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich confirmed that Hoobler has now sadly died at the age of 65, saying he was found dead at his home in the New Orleans parish on Friday 22 July, WAFB9 reports.
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The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Carter shared a tribute to his 'Uncle Bob’ on Instagram, sharing a photo of the ‘very spot’ where he had laid dying.
“Everything happens for a reason,” he wrote. “I was dying when I met u at this very spot. U refused to let me die.
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“Everything that doesn’t happen, doesn’t happen for a reason. That reason being you and faith.
“RIP uncle Bob. Aunt Kathie been waiting for u. I’ll love & miss u both and live for us all.”
Carter had almost died when he shot himself after returning home to his mother’s apartment in November 1994.
While he initially claimed the injury was an accident, he later said it was a suicide attempt.
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Thankfully, Robert Hoobler heard about what had happened his police radio while heading to work an off-duty security job, and went to help Carter – knocking the door down to find him covered in blood.
After trying to call for an ambulance, to be told there were none immediately available, Hoobler and another officer picked the youngster up and drove him to hospital themselves.
David Lapene, one of Hoobler’s friends and former co-workers at the New Orleans Police Department, said Carter’s account of Hoobler and officer Kevin Balancier saving his life was ‘one of the best stories that depicts Hoobler as a person’.
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He told NOLA.com of his old pal: “He was always people forward. He took care of the public just as much as he took care of the cops.”
The outlet also reported that Hoobler had suffered from lingering health issues after a car wreck and a struggle with diabetes led doctors to amputate both legs, according to his grandson Daniel Nelson.
Jess Hardiman